Apology

ByHal Hammons

I have been cranky lately.  The circumstances of my life, although delightful in most ways, are not ideal.  And I have let that affect my attitude — precisely what I criticize others for doing.  I am not sure exactly how bad it has been, but I have enough humility, introspection, and respect for others’ judgment to believe it has been considerably less than what it should be.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, obviously I would encourage you to ignore this paragraph.  If you do know, please accept my apology.

Life can be a trial.  In fact, life is a trial.  God is putting us to the test, as He did with Israel of old (Deuteronomy 8:2) to find out what we are made of.  And like it or not, a much truer reading is usually given in bad times than in good times.  True, some people can be jerks when they have the world by the tail.  But most of us feel we can “afford” to be kind on our good days.  On our bad days, though, we feel justified in being angry, bitter, cranky, dismissive, the whole alphabet soup of interpersonal infractions.

We are not justified, though.  We are just lazy.  My mantra in all things for several years has been, “Work harder.”  And my attitude is a great place to utilize that advice. 

Rationalizing my rotten attitude shows I haven’t been listening to Jesus enough, because Jesus says, “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil”  (Matthew 12:35).  Clearly I need to find more good treasure and give it a home in my heart.

That reminds me.  I need to do my Bible reading. 

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Selfies

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I am channeling Jude today.  The epistler famously wrote of feeling “the necessity” to write how his readers should “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3).  His plan had been to write regarding their “common salvation.”  Similarly, though not by inspiration, I was feeling the urge to write regarding the strange compulsion toward selfies in our culture (a less noble topic, granted).  But amidst my angst, I think I may have found some sympathy.  And I find myself writing something quite different from what I had planned.

Citizen of Heaven Podcast #201 — Schools

ByHal Hammons

What follows is a transcript of episode 201 of the Citizen of Heaven Podcast, which dropped February 7, 2022. Go to https://halhammons.buzzsprout.com to find out more. This is the Citizen of Heaven podcast #201 — Schools. I am Hal Hammons, and I am a citizen of heaven, and your embedded correspondent in Satan’s world. Thanks…

Flossing

ByHal Hammons

I don’t floss.  Never have.  I have been told my whole life that flossing helps prevent tooth decay.  All I knew was, it hurt my gums.  And my fingers.  Plus, it’s gross. Do I regret it?  Stare into my complete absence of dental work while I say, “Nooooooooooooo.”

Preserving the ancient boundary

ByHal Hammons

A landmark, the only one left of its kind, stands upright and proud near the town of Deadwood, Texas, on what is now the Texas-Louisiana border.  It is all that remains of what was once the boundary between the United States of America and the Republic of Texas.

        It stands, more than 150 years after it was erected, for three reasons: it is made of solid granite; it reaches six feet beneath ground level; and it has been deliberately preserved by people who value their heritage.

 Consider this.  Then ask yourselves, “How important is my heritage of faith?”